Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Congressional support seen for president's proposals to increase tax compliance

Congress is likely to give the Internal Revenue Service more money to combat tax cheats, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Many of the president's proposals for the agency's budget have bipartisan support, including one that would require brokerage houses, mutual funds and other institutions to report to the IRS what investors pay for stocks and other securities. The aim of cost-basis reporting would be to improve compliance on capital-gains taxes.

In addition, Congress is expected to increase the IRS budget for enforcement activities, such as audits.